@LilyB Yeah, they've seemed weirdly unnecessary to me from the beginning. I'm always so excited for my period to end, I'm not about to forget to start the new pill cycle. But I'm also always paranoid about additives and shit getting snuck into my food and drugs, sooo.

@Katred THANK YOU! This is really, really helpful and good to hear. I obviously have to learn more before making a decision on surgery or not, but my doctor's initial recommendation sounded similar, and I'm not looking forward to the process but glad to know it's more common and generally less stressful than I initially anticipated. I appreciate you making the account to reply!

I'm in the same boat as above - my periods got way more mild when I went on the pill at age 20. Now it's five years later and I would like to switch to an IUD, so I'm starting to make moves in that direction and hoping my awful, debilitating cramps don't return.

Here's a semi-related question that this comments section is super relevant for. Has anyone ever dealt with a fibroadenoma (benign breast tumor)? I went to the gyn terrified that I had cancer last week, and from an exam she felt I had a textbook case of this instead, but I have tests scheduled in two weeks that will help me be sure and I would love to hear about this from anyone who's gone through it.

I have large, frizzy, curly hair and I randomly bought Queen Helene gel/goop, minus the placenta, a few years ago. I never stopped buying similar kinds of goop. It feels disgusting but it contains curls without weighing them down.

I have been working too much at a new job and haven't had time to do certain things that I like to do, like read the Hairpin. I am sleep deprived at the moment and doing it anyway. My hand's up over here and this was really good for me.

I had a friend in college who went through a really ..odd period, and at one point came to my house and told me he'd spent the past night sleeping on the street and talking to homeless people because he wanted their perspective. At the time (as he was 19 and existential-crisis-fueled) he planned to do it for a week, and then a man walking by gave him a sweatshirt because he looked cold, and he was so touched that he realized his privilege and how silly his stunt was. He did actively volunteer at a shelter for a long time after that, though.

Anyway, one memorable quote we always return to was that he came back boasting "Spend a week on the streets, and you'll learn five words that can get you a free meal at any restaurant in the city."
"What are they?"
"I don't know. I only spent one night."

Hahaha Jia, you're killing it with the indie-bands-i-tangentially-know. I used to wake up and sometimes find one of the dudes from Magic Man in my apartment last year. (for that reason, I've never actually listened to the band.)